Savory Queso Freso Cheese Muffins

These cheese muffins have great flavor and make an excellent savory dinner bread. The onions and peppers are sautéed briefly to make them soft and sweet, then stirred into the batter along with queso fresco cheese, which does not melt completely and gives the muffins a tender texture.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 4 ounces queso fresco cheese, crumbled (or farmers cheese, or mild feta)
• 1 tablespoon diced pimento (optional)
• 2 tablespoons diced green chiles
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• Paprika

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
   
2. Sauté the onions and green pepper in the olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Let cook for 5 minutes.
   
   
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, cornmeal and sugar.
   
   
4. Stir in the crumbled cheese, pimento, and diced green chiles. Stir in the sautéed pepper and onions with the oil.
   
   
5. Whisk the eggs into the buttermilk, and add to the flour mixture. Stir just enough to mix ingredients. Do not overmix. Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with paper liners. Sprinkle tops of muffins with finely chopped green onions and a dash of paprika.
   
   
6. Bake for about 15 minutes. Muffins should spring back lightly to the touch when done. Let cool 5 minutes in pan. Serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

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